Trump pardons former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao

Investing.com -- President Trump has pardoned Changpeng Zhao, the convicted founder of cryptocurrency exchange Binance, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter.

Trump signed the pardon on Wednesday following months of efforts by Zhao to support the Trump family’s crypto company.

Zhao, commonly known as CZ, is a Chinese-born Canadian businessman who co-founded Binance. He resigned as CEO in November 2023 after pleading guilty to money laundering charges in the United States. In April 2024, he was sentenced to four months in prison and completed his sentence by September 2024.

The president has reportedly told advisers he was sympathetic to arguments that Zhao faced political persecution.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the pardon, stating that Trump "exercised his constitutional authority by issuing a pardon for Mr. Zhao, who was prosecuted by the Biden Administration in their war on cryptocurrency."

Leavitt added, "The Biden Administration’s war on crypto is over."

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